Indicted Alderman Wore Wire for Year – Who’s On The Tape?
One of Mayor Daley’s closest allies on the City Council has been wearing a wire and secretly recording “public officials and real estate developers” for more than a year, a City Hall bombshell that was revealed in a federal court document Thursday.
Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers (29th) was charged Thursday with fraud and bribery for allegedly accepting $40,000 in home improvements and other gifts from a politically connected developer, but he has been cooperating with the feds since April 2008, according to court papers.
In a possible all time low, Mr. Carothers will most likely follow his father, Alderman William Carothers, into prison. The elder Mr. Carothers was convicted on bribery and sent to prison in 1983 for threatening to block a $14.5 million Bethany Hospital expansion unless he received $15,000 worth of remodelling in his ward office.
Who else was caught on the wire bribing, lying, stealing, cheating, scheming, scamming and flim-flamming? Could anyone involved in the 2016 bid possibly be captured on tape doing corrupt activities that could get THEM indicted and sent to prison?
What other ongoing investigations could catch Olympic-related players in its net? mmmm. Wasn’t Jon Harris, the impeached and indicted governor’s top aide, also a former top aide to the mayor? And isn’t Mr. Harris cooperating with federal prosecutors?
Calling the International Olympic Committee – you may want to re-think your plans, as our city officials are under federal scrutiny on a number of fronts. Who knows who’s going to be taken down next?
In the last 36 years, 30 sitting or former aldermen have been convicted of corruption or other crimes. Here they are, along with the year each was convicted.
1. Fred Hubbard (2nd), 1973
2. Joseph Jambrone (28th), 1973
3. Casimir Staszcuk (13th), 1973
4. Joseph Potempa (23rd), 1973
5. Frank Kuta (23rd), 1974
6. Thomas E. Keane (31st), 1974
7. Paul T. Wigoda (49th), 1974
8. Donald Swinarski (12th), 1975
9. Edward T. Scholl (41st) 1975
10. Stanley Zydlo (26th), 1980
11. William Carothers (28th), 1983
12. Louis P. Farina (36th), 1983
13. Tyrone T. Kenner (3rd), 1983
14. Chester A. Kuta, (31st) 1987
15. Clifford P. Kelley (20th), 1987
16. Wallace Davis Jr. (27th), 1987
17. Perry Hutchinson (9th), 1988
18. Marian Humes (8th), 1989
19. Fred Roti (1st), 1993
20. Ambrosio Medrano (25th), 1996
21. Allan Streeter (17th), 1996
22. Joseph Martinez (31st), 1997
23. Jesse Evans (21st), 1997
24. John Madryzk (13th), 1998
25. Larry Bloom (5th), 1998
26. Virgil Jones (15th), 1999
27. Percy Giles (37th), 1999
28. James Laski (23rd), 2006.
29. Ed Vrdolyak (10th), 2008
30. Arenda Troutman (20th), 2008